Abstract

Soil salinity and its exacerbation resulting from water quality effects decrease product quality and cause specific ion toxicity in plants. The present study examined the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and sodium soluble percentage (SSP) indicators of groundwater resources to indirectly evaluate the water quality effects on the soil of Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran. For this purpose, 655 samples were collected during nine years from groundwater wells with agricultural land use in fixed sites of the province. After measuring the parameters of sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, chloride, sulfate, phosphate and electrical conductivity of the samples, the SAR and the SSP were determined using Microsoft Excel software, and then their distribution throughout the province was detected by GISV10 software. The results showed that the quality of 98 of groundwater resources with agricultural land use in the province based on the SSP and the SAR, respectively, was dubious to unsustainable and unusable. No doubt, indiscriminate use of these water resources exacerbates soil degradation in the region, especially in the cities of Iranshahr, Saravan and Khash, and will change seriously biodiversity of crop plants in these regions in the future. Copyright © EM International.